Graphical display of information has become the preferred means of communication through a computer. For example, operating systems such as Apple's OS and Microsoft's Windows® are very graphics intensive, having the ability to display multiple stacked windows within the confines of the viewable space of a computer monitor. For information that extends beyond the boundaries of the display, scrolling is used to roll the information up or down to get the desired information into view. Applications, like word-processing programs, games, and image editing programs, can be displayed in stacks, with the application being used at the time being in the forefront, with the remaining applications stacked underneath. The applications that are unused merely remain below in the stack until the user brings one of them to the forefront to activate it.
These known techniques are used because the amount of viewable space on a monitor is limited relative to the number of tasks the computer can perform or amount of information it can display. Stacking and scrolling are efficiency means to allow more information available for display than what the monitor can display at any one time.
An enhancement to visually displaying large and varied amounts of information is to use the perception of depth by allowing the user to scale windows to the forefront, thereby increasing their size, for files that are intended for use. Conversely, the user can scale windows into the back, thereby decreasing their size, for files that are either not intended for use at the time, or are performing functions that do not require substantial space on the monitor for the user to view the window. By decreasing the size of the window by scaling it to the back, its presence can still be ascertained. The window now occupies only minimal space, leaving viewable space on the monitor for windows the user desires to place in the forefront. This system allows the user to visually manage windows on the computer without necessarily having to lose sight of any of them. This system is in contrast to mere magnification functions that exist in word-processing and drawing programs. These magnification functions only serve to increase the size of the document, or canvas, not the application itself. Also, these functions tend to incorporate Preset Scales 16, 33.3, 50, 67, 100, etc.